Simmons & Simmons advises on UAE’s first digital wallet launch

28 Feb 2018

Simmons & Simmons’ TMT team has advised First Abu Dhabi Bank (“FAB”), the largest bank in the UAE, on the launch of ‘payit’: the nation’s first full featured digital wallet. The service, which is now available on app stores, is available to all individuals with a valid Emirates ID. ‘Payit’ allows users to send and receive money and its launch is an important step in the UAE’s goal of becoming a cashless economy.

The firm's FinTech team advised on various aspects of the project, led by Partner, Raza Rizvi. The local team were also part of the limited pool of first users during the soft launch and worked with a cross-functional team at FAB.

Global Head of FinTech, Angus McLean commented: “Our work on this market first project underlines the strength of our FinTech team in the UAE and adds to a long list of our experience of advising on cutting edge payments projects.”

Raza Rizvi, added: “We are delighted to have supported FAB on another FinTech milestone. The broader FinTech eco-system in the UAE and the wider Middle East is poised to more exciting developments in the payments space, particularly as digitisation and frictionless consumer journey initiatives gain momentum.”